Unemployment Rate Rises in November

According to the Labor Department, the unemployment rate edged up to 9.8% in November, while a mere 39,000 jobs were added.  The report noted that the unemployment rate had been 9.6% for the prior three months. 

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for September was revised from a reported loss of 41,000 jobs to a loss of 24,000, and the change for October was revised from an original reported gain of 151,000 jobs to 172,000 job gains. 

That said, total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in November.  While job gains continued in temporary help services ( up 40,000) and in health care (up 19,000, with much of that in hospitals), employment fell in retail trade (down 28,000).   

Average Workweek

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls held at 34.3 hours in November, and the manufacturing workweek for all employees also was unchanged at 40.3 hours, while factory overtime remained at 3.1 hours, according to the DoL.  The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.1 hour to 33.5 hours. 

In November, average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 1 cent to $22.75. In November, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees were unchanged at $19.19. 

More information is available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm